Yeimar Gómez


Yeimar Pastor Gómez Andrade is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC.

Early life

Gómez was born on 30 June 1992 in Tadó, a small municipality in Chocó, Colombia. Growing up, he was often cared for by his older sister or relatives while his parents, Jairo and Celestina, worked long hours at a local mine. Gómez spent his childhood in Tadó playing football and basketball; when he was six or seven, he began playing football for a local school as a defender.
During his youth, he was inspired by famous football defenders including Luis Amaranto Perea, Rio Ferdinand, and Nemanja Vidić. His first opportunity to train with a professional club came when he joined Boyacá Chicó F.C. as a youth. When Gómez was 14, he left Colombia upon the invitation of a teammate and began trying out for clubs in Argentina including Miter de Pérez and Newell's Old Boys.

Club career

Rosario Central

In 2009, Gómez joined Rosario Central's youth academy at the age of seventeen. From 2011 to 2013, he made 29 appearances in the fourth division of the Argentine Football Association. He also made 28 appearances during the 2012–2013 season of the. Gómez was then loaned to Tiro Federal in 2013. During their 2013–2014 season in the third division of Argentine football, Gómez made his professional debut and ended the season with 27 appearances and two goals.
Gómez returned to Rosario Central in 2014. During the 2014 season, Gómez made four appearances in the Argentine Primera División and played in two Copa Argentina matches. In 2015, Gómez made seventeen appearances in the Primera Division, fifteen of which were as a starter; he also made two appearances in Copa Argentina. Due to his rough style of defending, he got the nickname patabrava and was the subject of a fan-made song derived from "Bailando". In January 2016, Rosario Central loaned Gómez to Arsenal de Sarandí. There, Gómez had two appearances in the Primera Division for the 2016 season.

Independiente Rivadavia

In the summer of 2016, Gómez left Arsenal and joined Independiente Rivadavia. During the club's 2016–2017 season, he made forty appearances as a starter in Nacional B, the second division of Argentine football, and scored two goals. He also made one appearance for the club in Copa Argentina.

Unión de Santa Fe

In July 2017, Gómez joined Unión de Santa Fe. During his first season with club, Gómez made 25 appearances as a starter in the Primera Division and scored one goal in addition to making two appearances for the club in Copa Argentina. Gómez started in the club's 1–0 victory at home against Independiente on 12 May 2018. The win qualified the Unión for the 2019 Copa Sudamericana, their first in club history. In the 2018–2019 season, Gómez made 24 appearances as a starter and scored two goals while also making two appearances in Copa Argentina. He also had the record for the most interceptions and clearances out of any player in the 2018–2019 season.
Gómez made two appearances in the 2019 Copa Sudamericana against Independiente del Valle from Ecuador. The Unión won their first match at home against the Independiente in a 2–0 shutout where Gómez was recognized for his ability to shutdown the other team's offense. In the second away match, the Unión lost to Independiente 2–0 with one of the goals coming from an own goal by Gómez; the Unión failed to advance to the second round of the tournament after losing a penalty shootout to break the tied aggregate score.
On 15 October 2019, Gómez signed a new contract with the Unión for a term ending June 2022. Gómez made 15 appearances and scored two goals in the Unión's 2019–2020 season in addition to one appearance in Copa Argentina. On 22 January 2020, the Unión announced Gómez was transferring to Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. During Gómez's career with the Unión, he played a total of 74 games and scored five goals.

Seattle Sounders FC

On 5 February 2020, Gómez signed with Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. His first season with the team was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which left him unable to bring his family to the United States.

International career

Gómez made his debut for the Colombia national team on 16 January 2022 in a 2–1 home win over Honduras.

Honours

Seattle Sounders FC
Individual